The University of Birmingham Hong Kong Foundation

What we can achieve together

In an ever-changing and evolving world, we need to be able to act nimbly and respond quickly to needs and opportunities when they arise. Your gifts to the Foundation enable us to do so.

Our alumni in Hong Kong have been generous in their philanthropic giving to the University, having previously made contributions to scholarships, for our research tackling Ebola and antibiotic resistance, to funding teaching laboratories. The Foundation allows us to build on these successes, to continue to deepen our collective impact in Hong Kong and beyond.

How we will do it

We are creating opportunities for the exchange of knowledge between Birmingham and Hong Kong.

We are funding exchange partnerships for researchers from Birmingham, Hong Kong and across the wider region. There has never been a more important time for international collaboration and the Foundation is fostering those joint research programmes, which promise to have significant global impact.

We are funding Geoffrey Ma Scholarships for talented students from Hong Kong to follow in your footsteps to Edgbaston. We are funding mobility experiences for Birmingham students from challenging backgrounds to benefit from visiting Hong Kong, to meet our alumni, refine their leadership qualities and improve their cultural awareness.

Led by Professor Iseult Lynch, Professor of Environmental Nanosciences and Professor Stefan Krause, Professor of Ecohydrology and Biogeochemistry, we are mapping microplastics and types in Hong Kong rivers and the Pearl River Delta. In collaboration with the University of Hong Kong, this project aims to sample microplastics gathered from the six major rivers of Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta (a major source of plastic pollution worldwide). This will be the most comprehensive mapping ever undertaken, with data then used to model the environmental impact and how it can be averted.

The strength of our research in the region, combined with our highest concentration of alumni outside the UK, presents us with a unique opportunity. Funds from the Foundation are distributed by the board of directors to enable us to build and strengthen our community in Hong Kong, through enhancing research that matters and supporting bright minds in Birmingham.

We will support:

• Research exchange partnerships for researchers from Birmingham and Hong Kong
• The Geoffrey Ma Scholarships for students from Hong Kong, which recognise the Foundation’s first Honorary President
• Mobility experiences for students from Birmingham to visit Hong Kong and the region

To start a conversation, get in touch.